Page 65 of Wallflower in Bloom

“Oh lord,” he groaned in ecstasy.

A shiver went down her spine at his guttural moan of pleasure.

“Please keep going until we both die of old age.” He opened one eye to glare at her. “And where’s my scintillating fact?”

Dang. She hoped he’d forget. “Umm…I love cinnamon sugar donuts.”

“Bullshit,” he said quickly. “Funner than that.”

She snorted.

She thought back to Todd wanting her to stay and what Jack had said after he’d kissed her. I wanted to do it anyway.

She bit her lip, hedging her bets. “You’re my first fake boyfriend.”

“You’re rubbish at this game.” He grabbed her hand at his temple and rolled her arm over him as he turned to his side.

She took the hint and crawled into bed beside him, the big spoon to his little. Her arm draped over his chest, and their hands interlaced on the other side as her fingers entwined with his. Heat radiated from his body, and she had to physically restrain herself from nuzzling her face into his back.

“Try again,” he murmured.

“I’ve never been the big spoon before?” she offered.

He snorted. “Someday, you can be the little one when I feel better.”

“I didn’t have this on my want-to-try list.” Violet stilled, realizing what she’d said without thinking.

“Want-to-try list?” Jack turned to look over his shoulder and made blurry eye contact with her in the dark room. He moved onto his back. “What’s a want-to-try list?”

“You know.” She bit her lip from nerves. “For the things you’ve never done in bed and—oh god. I can’t believe I’m telling you this.” She buried her face in the mattress.

“Now, here’s a fun fact worth getting up for,” he said slowly, a smile in his voice. His thumb stroked her hand. “I need to see this want-to-try list.”

“Absolutely not,” she said firmly, her face still in the mattress. She’d die of embarrassment first. Just get him to go back to sleep. “You need to rest.”

He yawned as if on cue. “Ugh, only because I can’t keep my eyes open. To be continued.” He turned back on his side and tucked her arm under his tightly, and she scooted closer to nuzzle his back.

She let herself wallow in his dreamy, male scent intermixed with her fabric softener. It was an intoxicating perfume, but she reminded herself it wasn’t permanent. This was a fun happenstance to keep him safe because he didn’t feel good. Just cuddling.

She set a two-hour timer on her phone and willed her body to fall asleep, even as every nerve ending screamed this was the craziest dream come true.

A foghorn alarm blared in her ears two hours later, waking her. She shut it off as Jack groaned.

“You okay?” she said, rubbing her eyes.

His hands cradled his forehead. “I need another dosage of Paracetamol.”

“We call it Tylenol here, and you know it.” Violet smirked as she poked his side.

He chuckled. “But you still love to hear me say it, don’t you?”

“Maybe.” She rolled her eyes. She shouldn’t have admitted to being such an Anglophile last week over their nightly pot of decaf tea.

She wandered into the guest bathroom and found the large bottle of extra-strength Tylenol. She filled a glass of water and handed both to him, even putting the pills in a small paper cup.

“You are an excellent bedside nurse.” He sat up and threw back the pills. “Now, I have been mauled by a throbbing headache for the last 30 minutes. The only thing that’s kept me from not downing a bottle of gin or jumping out that window”—he rubbed his head—“is knowing what’s on your want-to-try list. Couldn’t fall asleep after you told me.”

Violet’s face burned with embarrassment.

---